From: Christian Science Monitor
The global ransomware attack that affected an estimated 300,000 computers in 150 countries is tied to a Windows vulnerability. Do Microsoft and other software makers bear responsibility for keeping products secure or is it up to users?
Jack Detsch, Michael B. Farrell
Washington—When automakers have shipped cars with bad brakes, they’ve faced multimillion-dollar government fines. Appliance companies have paid hefty legal settlements for selling flawed coffee pots. And the government brought criminal charges against food executives for contaminated peanut butter.
But the multibillion-dollar US software industry has so far been immune to civil or criminal liability for serious – and growing – problems that result from bad code. When it comes to keeping computer systems safe from malware and viruses, warding off criminal hackers, or simply updating buggy programs, it largely rests on consumers to keep systems safe even when the underlying technology may be flawed.
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